The performance and speed of semiconductor elements used in central processing units (CPUs) and the like have increased. This has increased the amount of heat generated by the semiconductor elements. An increase in the temperature of a semiconductor element may reduce the operation speed of the semiconductor element or cause a failure in the semiconductor element.
To reduce such increases in the temperature of semiconductor elements, various techniques for dissipating heat or cooling semiconductor devices have been proposed. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-302556 describes a semiconductor device that includes a heat dissipation plate formed from a metal having a high thermal conductivity. The heat dissipation plate is thermally coupled to a semiconductor element mounted on a wiring substrate by an adhesive. In this structure, when the semiconductor element generates heat, the heat is transmitted to the heat dissipation plate through the adhesive and then to the atmospheric air from the heat dissipation plate. This efficiently dissipates the heat from the semiconductor element and limits increases in the temperature of the semiconductor element.